Count Dracula
Count Dracula From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Count Dracula Dracula character Bela lugosi dracula.jpg Count Dracula as portrayed by Béla Lugosi in 1931's Dracula Created by Bram Stoker Portrayed by Bela Lugosi (Dracula 1931) Lon Chaney, Jr. ("Son of Dracula") Christopher Lee (Dracula 1958) Louis Jourdan (Count Dracula 1977) Frank Langella (Dracula 1979) Duncan Regehr (The Monster Squad) George Hamilton (actor) (Love at First Bite 1979) Gary Oldman (Dracula 1992) Leslie Nielsen (Dracula 1995) Gerard Butler (Dracula 2000) Richard Roxburgh (Van Helsing) Langley Kirkwood (Dracula 3000) Thomas Kretschmann (Dracula 3D) Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Dracula TV Series) Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania 2012) Luke Evans (Dracula Untold) Information Species Vampire Gender Male Spouse(s) Brides of Dracula Nationality Székely Count Dracula is the title character and primary antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. He is considered thus to be both the prototypical and the archetypical vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Some aspects of the character are believed to have been inspired by the 15th-century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler, who was also known as Dracula. Other character aspects have been added or altered in subsequent popular media fictional works. The character has subsequently appeared frequently in popular culture, from films to animated media to breakfast cereals. Contents hide 1 Stoker's creation 1.1 Characteristics 1.2 Powers and weaknesses 2 Character Development subsequent to the novel 3 Modern and postmodern analyses of the character 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links Stoker's creationedit Bram Stoker's novel takes the form of an epistolary tale, in which Count Dracula's characteristics, powers, abilities and weaknesses are narrated by multiple narrators, from different perspectives.1 The most informative of these narrators are Jonathan Harker, John Seward, and Mina Harker. Count Dracula is a centuries-old vampire, sorcerer, and Transylvanian nobleman, who claims to be a Székely descended from Attila the Hun. He inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo Pass. Unlike the vampires of Eastern European folklore, which are portrayed as repulsive, corpse-like creatures, Dracula exudes a veneer of aristocratic charm. In his conversations with Jonathan Harker, he reveals himself as deeply proud of his boyar heritage and nostalgic for the past times, which he admits have become only a memory of heroism, honor and valor in modern times. Details of his early life are obscure, but it seems that Dracula studied the black arts at the academy of Scholomance in the Carpathian Mountains, overlooking the town of Sibiu (also known as Hermannstadt) and became proficient in alchemy and magic.2 Taking up arms, as befitting his rank and status as a voivode, he led troops against the Turks across the Danube. According to Van Helsing: "He must indeed have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land. If it be so, then was he no common man: for in that time, and for centuries after, he was spoken of as the cleverest and the most cunning, as well as the bravest of the sons of the land beyond the forest."3 Dead and buried in a great tomb in the chapel of his castle, Dracula returns from death as a vampire and lives for several centuries in his castle with three beautiful female vampires beside him.4 They seem to bear a possible family resemblance 5 though whether they be his lovers, sisters, daughters, or vampires made by him is not made clear in the narrative. Max Schreck as Count Orlok, the first confirmed cinematic representation of Dracula. As the novel begins in the late 19th century, Dracula acts on a long contemplated plan for world domination, and infiltrates London to begin his reign of terror. He summons Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, to provide legal support for a real estate transaction overseen by Harker's employer. Dracula at first charms Harker with his cordiality and historical knowledge, and even rescues him from the clutches of the three female vampires in the castle. In truth, however, Dracula wishes to keep Harker alive long enough to complete the legal transaction and to learn as much as possible about England. Dracula leaves his castle and boards a Russian ship, the Demeter, taking along with him boxes of Transylvanian soil, which he needs in order to regain his strength. During the voyage to Whitby, a coastal town in northern England, he sustains himself on the ship's crew members. Only one body is later found, that of the captain, who is found tied up to the ship's helm. The captain's log is recovered and tells of strange events that had taken place during the ship's journey. Dracula leaves the ship in the form of a dog. Soon the Count is menacing Harker's fiancée, Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray, and her friend, Lucy Westenra. There is also a notable link between Dracula and Renfield, a patient in an insane asylum compelled to consume insects, spiders, birds, and other creatures—in ascending order of size—in order to absorb their "life force". Renfield acts as a kind of sensor, reacting to Dracula's proximity and supplying clues accordingly. Dracula begins to visit Lucy's bed chamber on a nightly basis, draining her of blood while simultaneously infecting her with the curse of vampirism. Not knowing the cause for Lucy's deterioration, her companions call upon the Dutch doctor Abraham Van Helsing, the former mentor of one of Lucy's suitors. Van Helsing soon deduces her condition's supernatural origins, but does not speak out. Despite an attempt at keeping the vampire at bay with garlic, Dracula entices Lucy out of her chamber late at night and transforms her into one of the undead. Van Helsing and Lucy's former suitors John Seward, Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris enter her crypt and kill her. Later, Harker joins them and they enter Dracula's residences at Carfax and Piccadilly, destroying his boxes of earth, depriving the Count of his ability to rest. Dracula leaves England to return to his homeland, but not before biting Mina. The final section of the novel details the heroes racing Dracula back to Transylvania, and in a climactic battle with Dracula's gypsy bodyguards, finally destroying him. Despite the popular image of Dracula having a stake driven through his heart to kill him, Mina's narrative describes his throat being cut through by Jonathan Harker's kukri and his heart pierced by Morris' Bowie knife (Mina Harker's Journal, 6 November, Dracula Chapter 27). His body then turns into dust, but not before Mina Harker sees an expression of peace on Dracula's face. Characteristicsedit Although early in the novel Dracula dons a mask of cordiality, he often flies into fits of rage when his plans are interfered with. When the three vampire women who live in his castle attempt to seduce Jonathan Harker, Dracula physically assaults one and ferociously berates them for their insubordination. He then relents and talks to them more kindly, telling them that he does indeed love each of them. Dracula is very passionate about his warrior heritage, emotionally proclaiming his pride to Harker on how the Székely people are infused with the blood of heroes. He does express an interest in the history of the British Empire, speaking admiringly of its people. He has a somewhat primal and predatory worldview; he pities ordinary humans for their revulsion to their darker impulses. Though usually portrayed as having a strong Eastern European accent, the original novel only specifies that his spoken English is excellent, though strangely toned. His appearance varies in age. He is described early in the novel as thin, with a long white mustache, pointed ears and sharp teeth. It is also noted later in the novel (Chapter 11 subsection "The Escaped Wolf") by a zookeeper that sees him that he has a hooked nose and a pointed beard with a streak of white in it. He is dressed all in black and has hair on his palms. Jonathan Harker described him as an old man; "cruel looking" and giving an effect of "extraordinary pallor".6 When angered the Count showed his true bestial nature, his blue eyes flaming red. I saw... Count Dracula... with red light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas in hell might be proud of. — Jonathan Harker's Journal, Dracula, Chapter 4 As the novel progresses, Dracula is described as taking on a more and more youthful appearance. Powers and weaknessesedit Count Dracula is portrayed in the novel using many different supernatural abilities. He has superhuman strength which, according to Van Helsing, is equivalent to that of 20 strong men. Being undead, he is immune to conventional means of attack. Like all undead, he is immortal, though he can be killed by the traditional vampire methods (wooden stakes, iron and/or steel weapons, wild rose, holy water, etc.)needed The only definite way to kill him is by decapitating him preceded by impalement through the heart. The Count does not have to seek victims regularly, and has the ability to remain inactive for centuries. The Count can defy gravity to a certain extent and possesses superhuman agility; being able to climb upside down vertical surfaces in a reptilian manner. He has powerful hypnotic and telepathic abilities, and is also able to command nocturnal animals such as bats and rats. Dracula can also manipulate the weather, usually creating mists to hide his presence, but also storms such as in his voyage in the Demeter. He can travel onto "unhallowed" ground such as the graves of suicides and those of his victims. He can shapeshift at will, his featured forms in the novel being that of a bat, a wolf, a large dog and fog. He is able to pass through tiny cracks or crevices while retaining his human form, described by Van Helsing as the ability to become "so small." He also has the ability to vanish and reappear somewhere else. He requires no other sustenance but fresh blood, which has the effect of rejuvenating him.7 According to Van Helsing: The Nosferatu do not die like the bees when they sting once. He is only stronger, and being stronger, have yet more power to work evil. —Mina Harker's Journal, Dracula, Chapter 18 One of Dracula's most mysterious powers is the ability to transfer his vampiric condition by biting others, who become the vampires after death. According to Van Helsing: "They cannot die, but must go on age after age adding new victims and multiplying the evils of the world. For all that die from the preying of the Un-dead become themselves Un-dead,and prey on their kind. And so the circle goes on ever widening, like as the ripples from a stone thrown in the water. Friend Arthur, if you had met that kiss which you know of before poor Lucy die, or again,last night when you open your arms to her, you would in time, when you had died, have become nosferatu, as they call it in Eastern europe, and would for all time make more of those Un-Deads that so have filled us with horror." He slowly transforms Lucy into a vampire and, following her destruction, sets his sights on Mina. To punish Mina he forces her to drink his blood; this act gives him telepathic link to her thoughts. The sun that rose on our sorrow this morning guards us in its course. Until it sets to-night, that monster must retain whatever form he now has. He is confined within the limitations of his earthly envelope. He cannot melt into thin air nor disappear through cracks or chinks or crannies. If he go through a doorway, he must open the door like a mortal. —Johnathan Harker's Journal, Dracula, Chapter 22 Dracula's powers are not unlimited, however. He is much less powerful in daylight and is only able to shift his form at dawn, noon, and dusk (he can shift freely at night). The sun is not fatal to him, though, as sunlight does not burn and destroy him upon contact. He is repulsed by garlic, crucifixes and sacramental bread, and he can only cross running water at low or high tide. He is also unable to enter a place unless invited to do so; once invited, however, he can approach and leave the premises at will. While universally feared by the local people of Transylvania and even beyond, he somehow commands the loyalty of gypsies and a band of Slovaks who transport his boxes on their way to London and to serve as an armed convoy bringing his coffin back to the Castle. The Slovaks and gypsies appear to know his true nature, for they laugh at Jonathan Harker, who tries to communicate his plight, and betray Harker's attempt to send a letter through them by giving it to the Count. Count Dracula is depicted as the "King Vampire," and can control other vampires who were his own victims but also, as per the story "Dracula's Guest", those in farther away lands such as Styria who may or may not have been Dracula's victims. His death can release the curse on any living victim of eventual transformation into vampire. But Van Helsing reveals that were he to successfully escape, his continued existence would ensure that even if he did not victimize Mina Harker further, she would transform into a vampire upon her eventual natural death. He also requires Transylvanian soil to be nearby to him in order to successfully rest; otherwise, he will not be able to recover his strength. Dracula's powers and weaknesses vary greatly in the many adaptations. Previous and subsequent vampires from different legends have had similar vampire characteristics. Character Development subsequent to the noveledit Main article: Dracula in popular culture Statue of Béla Lugosi as Count Dracula, at the Hollywood Wax Museum Dracula is arguably one of the most famous characters in popular culture. He has been portrayed by more actors in more visual media adaptations of the novel than any other horror character.8 Actors who have played him include Max Schreck, Béla Lugosi, John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Francis Lederer, Denholm Elliott, Jack Palance, Louis Jourdan, Frank Langella, Klaus Kinski, Gary Oldman, Leslie Nielsen, George Hamilton, Keith-Lee Castle, Gerard Butler, Richard Roxburgh, Marc Warren, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Billington, Thomas Kretschmann and Dominic Purcell. Lon Chaney Jr. played either Dracula or his progeny in the Universal film, "Son of Dracula." Of all the foregoing, it is generally conceded that actor Bela Lugosi's stage and 1931 movie portrayal of Dracula has, in appearance, speech, public personality, mannerisms and dress, overshadowed Stoker's original conception of these character aspects. The character is closely associated with the western cultural archetype of the vampire, and remains a popular Halloween costume. Count Dracula appears in Mad Monster Party? voiced by Allen Swift. This version is shown to be wearing a monocle. Count Dracula is among the monsters that Baron Boris von Frankenstein invites to the Isle of Evil in order to show off the secret of total destruction and announce his retirement from the Worldwide Organization of Monsters. In Sesame Street there is a character called Count von Count who was based on Bela Lugosi's interpretation of Count Dracula. Count Dracula appears in Mad Mad Mad Monsters (a "prequel of sorts" to Mad Monster Party?) voiced again by Allen Swift. He and his son are invited by Baron Henry von Frankenstein to attend the wedding of Frankenstein's Monster and it's mate at the Transylvania Astoria Hotel. An entire game series was based on Dracula, called "Castlevania" where you play to fight and kill Dracula in his castle. In 2003, Count Dracula, as portrayed by Lugosi in the 1931 film, was named as the 33rd greatest movie villain by the American Film Institute. Dracula appears as the lead character of Dracula the Un-dead, a novel by Stoker's great-grand nephew Dacre presented as a sequel to the original. Set twenty-five years after the original novel, Dracula has gone to Paris as an actor with the name Vladimir Basarab. He appears to be an anti-hero as he tries to protect his and Mina's son Quincey Harker against another vampire Elizabeth Bathory. At the end of the novel he was able to kill Bathory but was wounded by her and falls down a cliff with Mina, presumably dying. Sometime later Quincey went on a ship to America, hoping for a better life. Unknown to him, boxes labeled as property of Vladimir Basarab are also loaded on board. The ocean liner is later revealed to be the RMS Titanic. Count Dracula appears in the 2012 CGI animated comedy film Hotel Transylvania voiced by Adam Sandler. Here, he has a daughter named Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) and a deceased wife named Martha (voiced by Jackie Sandler). Count Dracula is good friends with Frankenstein (voiced by Kevin James) and his wife Eunice (voiced by Fran Drescher), Wayne and Wanda Werewolf (voiced by Steve Buscemi and Molly Shannon), Murray the Mummy (voiced by Cee Lo Green) and Griffin the Invisible Man (voiced by David Spade). To keep his daughter and the world's monsters safe from humans following Martha's death at the hands of an angry mob, Dracula has a hotel built called Hotel Transylvania as a haven which is surrounded by a graveyard and a spooky forest as a way to keep humans out. Once the construction is finished, Count Dracula gets all of the world's most famous monsters to go check into Hotel Transylvania, a safe haven for all of the famous monsters to get away from humankind. When a human named Jonathan (voiced by Andy Samberg) stumbles onto Hotel Transylvania, Dracula works to attempt to get him away from the hotel, keep him disguised as a way to keep the monsters from finding out, and keeping him from being made into a delicacy by Chef Quasimodo (voiced by Jon Lovitz). By the end of the movie, Dracula ends up accepting that Mavis is in love with Jonathan while seeing that not all humans are bad like the ones that he had previously encountered in the past. Modern and postmodern analyses of the characteredit Portrait of Vlad III Dracula. Already in 1958, Cecil Kirtly proposed that Count Dracula shared his personal past with the historical Transylvanian-born Voivode Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia, also known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Țepeș. Following the publication of In Search of Dracula by Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally in 1972, this supposed connection attracted much popular attention. Historically, the name "Dracula" is the given name of Vlad Ṭepeș' family, a name derived from a secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon, founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg (king of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and Holy Roman Emperor) to uphold Christianity and defend the Empire against the Ottoman Turks. Vlad II Dracul, father of Vlad III, was admitted to the order around 1431 because of his bravery in fighting the Turks and was dubbed Dracul (Dragon) thus his son became Dracula (son of the dragon). From 1431 onward, Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and later, as ruler of Wallachia, his coinage bore the dragon symbol.9 Stoker came across the name Dracula in his reading on Romanian history, and chose this to replace the name (Count Wampyr) that he had originally intended to use for his villain. However, some Dracula scholars, led by Elizabeth Miller, have questioned the depth of this connection as early as 1998. They argue that Stoker in fact knew little of the historic Vlad III except for the name "Dracula". While having a conversation with Jonathan Harker in Chapter 3, Dracula refers to his own background, and these speeches show elements which Stoker directly copied from Wilkinson's book. Stoker mentions the Voivode of the Dracula race who fought against the Turks after the defeat of Cossova, and was later betrayed by his brother, historical facts which unequivocally point to Vlad III, described as "Voïvode Dracula" by Wilkinson: Who was it but one of my own race who as Voivode crossed the Danube and beat the Turk on his own ground? This was a Dracula indeed! Woe was it that his own unworthy brother, when he had fallen, sold his people to the Turk and brought the shame of slavery on them! Was it not this Dracula, indeed, who inspired that other of his race who in a later age again and again brought his forces over the great river into Turkey-land; who, when he was beaten back, came again, and again, though he had to come alone from the bloody field where his troops were being slaughtered, since he knew that he alone could ultimately triumph! (Chapter 3, pp 19) The Count's intended identity is later commented by Professor Van Helsing, referring to a letter from his friend Arminius: He must, indeed, have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land. (Chapter 18, pp 145) This indeed encourages the reader to identify the Count with the Voivode Dracula first mentioned by him in Chapter 3, the one betrayed by his brother: Vlad III Dracula, betrayed by his brother Radu the Handsome, who had chosen the side of the Turks. But as noted by the Dutch author Hans Corneel de Roos, in Chapter 25, Van Helsing and Mina drop this rudimentary connection to Vlad III and instead describe the Count's personal past as that of "that other of his race" who lived "in a later age". By smoothly exchanging Vlad III for a nameless double, Stoker avoided that his main character could be unambiguously linked to a historical person traceable in any history book. Similarly, the novelist did not want to disclose the precise site of the Count's residence, Castle Dracula. As confirmed by Stoker's own handwritten research notes, the novelist had a specific location for the Castle in mind while writing the narrative: an empty mountain top in the Transylvanian Kelemen Alps near the former border with Moldavia.10 Efforts to promote the Poenari Castle (ca. 200 km away from the novel's place of action near the Borgo Pass) as the "real Castle Dracula" have no basis in Stoker’s writing; Stoker did not know this building. Regarding the Bran Castle near Brașov, Stoker possibly saw an illustration of Castle Bran (Törzburg) in Charles Boner's book on Transylvania.11 Although Stoker may have been inspired by its romantic appearance, neither Boner, nor Mazuchelli nor Crosse (who also mention Terzburg or Törzburg) associate it with Vlad III; for the site of his fictitious Castle Dracula, Stoker preferred an empty mountain top. Furthermore, Stoker's detailed notes reveal that the novelist was very well aware of the ethnic and geo-political differences between the "Roumanians" or "Wallachs"/"Wallachians", descendants of the Dacians on the one hand, and the Székelys or Szeklers, allies of the Magyars or Hungarians on the other hand, whose interests were opposed to that of the Wallachians. In the novel's original typewritten manuscript, the Count speaks of throwing off the "Austrian yoke", which corresponds to the Szekler political point of view. This expression is crossed out, however, and replaced by "Hungarian yoke" (as appearing in the printed version), which matches the historical perspective of the Wallachians. This has been interpreted by some to mean that Stoker opted for the Wallachian, not the Szekler interpretation, thus lending more consistency to the Romanian identity of his Count: although not identical with Vlad III, the Vampire is portrayed as one of the "Dracula race".12 It has been suggested by some that Stoker was influenced by the legend of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, who was born in the Kingdom of Hungary and accused of the murder of 80 young women.13 See alsoedit Portal icon Novels portal Dracula Dracula in popular culture Tables of vampire traits Count Orlok Carmilla Varney the Vampire Vlad III the Impaler Elizabeth Báthory Mina Harker List of fictional vampires Notesedit Jump up ^ Carol N. Senf "Dracula: The Unseen Face in the Mirror" in the Norton Critical Edition of Dracula (1997) by Bram Stoker, edited by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal: 421-31 Jump up ^ Dracula Chapter 18 and Chapter 23 Jump up ^ Mina Harker's Journal, 30 September, Dracula, Chapter 18 Jump up ^ Dracula Chapter 27 Jump up ^ Dracula Chapter 3 Jump up ^ Dracula, Chapter 2 Jump up ^ Dracula, Chapter 18 Jump up ^ Guinness World Records Experience Jump up ^ Vlad III Encyclopedia Britannica Jump up ^ Hans Corneel de Roos, The Dracula Maps, in: The Ultimate Dracula, Moonlake Editions, Munich, 2012. Jump up ^ Charles Boner, Transylvania: Its Product and Its People. London: Longmans, 1865. Referred to by Marius Crişan, The Models for Castle Dracula in Stoker’s Sources on Transylvania, Journal of Dracula Studies Nr 10 (2008) Jump up ^ Hans Corneel de Roos, Stoker's Vampire Trap: Vlad the Impaler and his Nameles Double, Linkoeping University Electronic Press, Linköping Electronic Articles in Computer and Information Science, ISSN 1401-9841, Vol. 15 (2012): no. 2. 2012, p. 7. Jump up ^ bathory.org/miller02.html Referencesedit Clive Leatherdale (1985) Dracula: the Novel and the Legend. Desert Island Books. Bram Stoker (1897) Dracula. Norton Critical Edition (1997) edited by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal. Senf, Carol. Dracula: Between Tradition and Modernism (Twayne, 1998). Senf, Carol A. Bram Stoker. University of Wales Press, 2010. External linksedit Count Dracula at the Internet Movie Database Bram Stoker Online Full text, PDF and audio versions of Dracula. http://mavericuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Count_Dracula show v t e Bram Stoker's Dracula Categories: DraculaDracula charactersDracula in written fictionFictional alchemistsFictional counts and countessesFictional hypnotistsFictional shapeshiftersFictional telepathsFictional vampiresFictional versions of real peopleHorror film charactersMonstersLiterary villainsFictional Hungarian peopleFictional characters introduced in 1897Characters in British novels of the 19th centuryVideo game bosses Write the first paragraph of your page here. Section heading Write the first section of your page here. Section heading Write the second section of your page here. | birth_date = November or December 1431| birth_place = Sighișoara, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary (now Romania)| death_date = December 1476 or January 1477, exact date unknown (aged 45)| death_place = Bucharest, Wallachia| reign = 1448; 1456–1462; 1476| royal house = House of Drăculești (branch of the House of Basarab)| spouse 1 = unnamed Transylvanian noblewoman| spouse 2 = Ilona Szilágyi| children = Mihnea cel Rău, Vlad IV Călugărul| father = Vlad II Dracul| mother = Cneajna of Moldavia| signature = | Religion = Christian }}Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (1431–1476/77), was a member of the House of Drăculești, a branch of the House of Basarab, also known by his patronymic name: Dracula. He was posthumously dubbed Vlad the Impaler (Romanian: Vlad Țepeș ), and was a three-time Voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462, the period of the incipient Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. His father, Vlad II Dracul, was a member of the Order of the Dragon, which was founded to protect Christianity in Eastern Europe. Vlad III is revered as a folk hero in Romania as well as other parts of Europe for his protection of the Romanian population both south and north of the Danube. A significant number of Romanian and Bulgarian common folk and remaining boyars (nobles) moved north of the Danube to Wallachia, recognized his leadership and settled there following his raids on the Ottomans. As the cognomen 'The Impaler' suggests, his practice of impaling his enemies is part of his historical reputation. During his lifetime, his reputation for excessive cruelty spread abroad, to Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The name of the vampire Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula was inspired by Vlad's patronymic. Name During his life Vlad wrote his name in Latin documents as Wladislaus Dragwlya, vaivoda partium Transalpinarum (1475).Anuarul Institutului de Istorie Cluj-Napoca, no. 35, Institutul de Istorie din Cluj, Editura Academiei, 1996,pp. 29-34. His Romanian patronymic Dragwlya (or Dragkwlya) Dragulea, Dragolea, Drăculea, is a diminutive of the epithet Dracul carried by his father Vlad II, who in 1431 was inducted as a member of the Order of the Dragon, a chivalric order founded by Sigismund of Hungary in 1408. Dracul is the Romanian definite form, the -ul being the suffixal definite article (deriving from Latin ille). The noun drac "dragon" itself continues Latin draco. Thus, Dracula literally means "Son of the Dragon". In Modern Romanian, the word drac has adopted the meaning of "devil" (the term for "dragon" now being balaur or dragon). This has led to misinterpretations of Vlad's epithet as characterizing him as "devilish". Vlad's nickname of Țepeș ("Impaler") identifies his favourite method of execution. It was attached to his name posthumously, in ca. 1550. Before this, however, he was known as "Kazıklı Bey" (Sir Impaler) by the Ottoman Empire after their armies encountered his "forests" of impalement victims. Family Early life Vlad was born in Sighișoara, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary (today part of Romania), in the winter of 1431 to Vlad II Dracul, future voivode of Wallachia. Vlad's father was the son of the celebrated Voivode Mircea the Elder. His mother is unknown, though at the time his father is believed to have been married to Princess Cneajna of Moldavia (eldest daughter of Alexander "the Good", Prince of Moldavia and aunt to Stephen the Great of Moldavia) and also to have kept a number of mistresses. He had two older half-brothers, Mircea II and Vlad Călugărul, and a younger brother, Radu III the Handsome. ]] In the year of his birth, Vlad's father, known under the nickname Dracul, had traveled to Nuremberg where he had been vested into the Order of the Dragon. Vlad and Radu spent their early formative years in Sighișoara. During the first reign of their father, Vlad II Dracul, the Voivode brought his young sons to Târgoviște, the capital of Wallachia at that time. The Byzantine chancellor Mikhail Doukas showed that, at Târgoviște, the sons of boyars and ruling princes were well-educated by Romanian or Greek scholars commissioned from Constantinople. Vlad is believed to have learned combat skills, geography, mathematics, science, languages (Old Church Slavonic, German, Latin), and the classical arts and philosophy. Life in Edirne In 1436, Vlad II Dracul ascended the throne of Wallachia. He was ousted in 1442 by rival factions in league with Hungary, but secured Ottoman support for his return by agreeing to pay the Tribute to the Sultan. Vlad II also sent his two legitimate sons, Vlad and Radu cel Frumos, to the Ottoman court, to serve as hostages of his loyalty. After the death of Vlad II Dracul, Radu cel Frumos converted to Islam and entered the service of the Ottoman court. During his years as hostage, Vlad was educated in logic, the Quran and the Turkish language and works of literature. He would speak this language fluently in his later years. He and his brother were also trained in warfare and riding horses. The boys' father, Vlad Dracul, was awarded the support of the Ottomans and returned to Wallachia and took back his throne from Basarab II and some unfaithful Boyars. Genealogy In October 2011, Prince Charles publicly claimed that he is a descendant of Vlad the Impaler. The claim accompanied his announcement of a pledge to help conserve the forested areas of Transylvania. Radu Florescu documented on page 193 of his book, "Dracula: Prince of Many Faces" that the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I granted Ladislas Dracula and his brother John recognition as Dracula's direct descendants. Based on their documentation, the Emperor granted them letters patent (a patent of nobility) on January 20, 1535, in which their descent is described and also specific mention is made in the patent of "the ancient insignia of Ladislas's family" as being the same as that of the Bathory family—a gules (red) sword covering three wolf teeth. First reign and exile Mehmed II organized his armies to wage various campaigns against Vlad and his Boyars.]] In December 1447, boyars in league with the Hungarian regent John Hunyadi rebelled against Vlad II Dracul and killed him in the marshes near Bălteni. Mircea II of Wallachia, Dracul's eldest son and heir, was blinded and buried alive at Târgoviște. To prevent Wallachia from falling into the Hungarian fold, the Ottomans invaded Wallachia and put young Vlad III on the throne. However, this rule was short-lived as Hunyadi himself now invaded Wallachia and restored his ally Vladislav II, of the Dănești clan, to the throne. Vlad fled to Moldavia, where he lived under the protection of his uncle, Bogdan II. In October 1451, Bogdan was assassinated and Vlad fled to Hungary. Impressed by Vlad's vast knowledge of the mindset and inner workings of the Ottoman Empire as well as his hatred of the new sultan Mehmed II, Hunyadi reconciled with his former rival and made him his advisor. After the Fall of Constantinople to Mehmed II in 1453, Ottoman influence began to spread from this base through the Carpathians, threatening mainland Europe, and by 1481 conquering the entire Balkans peninsula. Vlad's rule thus falls entirely within the three decades of the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. In 1456, three years after the Ottomans had conquered Constantinople, they threatened Hungary by besieging Belgrade. Hunyadi began a concerted counter-attack in Serbia: while he himself moved into Serbia and relieved the siege (before dying of the plague), Vlad led his own contingent into Wallachia, reconquered his native land and killed Vladislav II in hand-to-hand combat. Second reign Internal policy Vlad found Wallachia in a wretched state: constant war had resulted in rampant crime, falling agricultural production, and the virtual disappearance of trade. Regarding a stable economy essential to resisting external enemies, he used severe methods to restore order and prosperity. Vlad had three aims for Wallachia: to strengthen the country's economy, its defense, and his own political power. He took measures to help the peasants' well-being by building new villages and raising agricultural output. He understood the importance of trade for the development of Wallachia. He helped the Wallachian merchants by limiting foreign merchant trade to three market towns: Târgșor, Câmpulung and Târgoviște. Vlad considered the boyars the chief cause of the constant strife as well as of the death of his father and brother. To secure his rule he had many leading nobles killed. He also gave positions in his council which had traditionally belonged to the greatest boyars to persons of obscure or foreign origin who would be loyal to him alone. For lower offices, Vlad preferred knights and free peasants to boyars. In his aim of fixing up Wallachia, Vlad issued new laws punishing thieves. Vlad treated the boyars with the same harshness, believing them guilty of weakening Wallachia through their personal struggles for power. The army was also strengthened. He had a small personal guard, mostly made of mercenaries, who were rewarded with loot and promotions. He also established a militia or ‘lesser army’ made up of peasants called to fight whenever war came. Vlad Dracula built a church at Târgșor (allegedly in the memory of his father and older brother who were killed nearby), and he contributed with money to the Snagov Monastery. Raids into Transylvania Since the Wallachian nobility was allied with the Transylvanian Saxons, Vlad also acted against them by eliminating their trade privileges and raiding their resident castles. In 1459, he had several Saxon settlers of Brașov (Kronstadt) impaled. War with the Ottomans In 1459, Pope Pius II called for a new crusade against the Ottomans, at the Congress of Mantua. In this crusade, the main role was to be played by Matthias Corvinus, son of John Hunyadi (János Hunyadi), the King of Hungary. To this effect, Matthias Corvinus received from the Pope 40,000 golden coins, an amount that was thought to be enough to gather an army of 12,000 men and purchase 10 Danube warships. In this context, Vlad allied himself with Matthias Corvinus, with the hope of keeping the Ottomans out of the country (Wallachia was claimed as a part of the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Mehmed II). .]] Later that year, in 1459, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II sent envoys to Vlad to urge him to pay a delayed tribute of 10,000 ducats and 500 recruits into the Ottoman forces. Vlad refused, because if he had paid the 'tribute', as the tax was called at the time, it would have meant a public acceptance of Wallachia as part of the Ottoman Empire. Vlad, just like most of his predecessors and successors, had as a primary goal to keep Wallachia as independent as possible. Vlad had the Turkish envoys killed on the pretext that they had refused to raise their "hats" to him, by nailing their turbans to their heads. Meanwhile, the Sultan received intelligence reports that revealed Vlad's domination of the Danube. He sent the Bey of Nicopolis, Hamza Pasha, to make peace and, if necessary, eliminate Vlad III. Vlad Țepeș planned to set an ambush. Hamza Pasha, the Bey of Nicopolis, brought with him 1000 cavalry and when passing through a narrow pass north of Giurgiu, Vlad launched a surprise attack. The Wallachians had the Turks surrounded and defeated. The Turks' plans were thwarted and almost all of them caught and impaled, with Hamza Pasha impaled on the highest stake to show his rank. .]]In the winter of 1462, Vlad crossed the Danube and devastated the entire Bulgarian land in the area between Serbia and the Black Sea. Disguising himself as a Turkish Sipahi and utilizing the fluent Turkish he had learned as a hostage, he infiltrated and destroyed Ottoman camps. In a letter to Corvinus dated 2 February, he wrote: I have killed peasants men and women, old and young, who lived at Oblucitza and Novoselo, where the Danube flows into the sea, up to Rahova, which is located near Chilia, from the lower Danube up to such places as Samovit and Ghighen. We killed 23,884 Turks without counting those whom we burned in homes or the Turks whose heads were cut by our soldiers...Thus, your highness, you must know that I have broken the peace with him (Sultan Mehmet II). In response to this, Sultan Mehmed II raised an army of around 60,000 troops and 30,000 irregulars, and in spring of 1462 headed towards Wallachia. Commanding at best only 30,000 to 40,000 men (depending of the source), Vlad was unable to stop the Ottomans from crossing the Danube on June 4, 1462 and entering Wallachia. He constantly organized small attacks and ambushes on the Turks, such as The Night Attack when 15,000 Turks were killed. This infuriated Mehmed II, who then crossed the Danube. With the exception of some Turkish references all the other chronicles at the time that mention the 1462 campaign state that the Sultan was defeated. Apparently, the Turks retreated in such a hurry that by July 11, 1462 the Sultan was already in Adrianopolis. According to the Byzantine historian Chalcocondil, Radu, brother of Vlad III and ingratiate of the Sultan, was left behind in Targoviste with the hope that he would be able to gather an anti-Vlad clique that would ultimately get rid of Vlad as Voivode of Wallachia and crown Radu as the new puppet ruler. Vlad the Impaler's attack was celebrated by the Saxon cities of Transylvania, the Italian states and the Pope. A Venetian envoy, upon hearing about the news at the court of Corvinus on 4 March, expressed great joy and said that the whole of Christianity should celebrate Vlad Țepeș's successful campaign. The Genoese from Caffa also thanked Vlad, for his campaign had saved them from an attack of some 300 ships that the sultan planned to send against them.The Night Attack Defeat Vlad's younger brother Radu cel Frumos and his Janissary battalions were given the task of leading the Ottoman Empire to victory at all expense by Sultan Mehmed II. After the Sipahis' incursions failed to subdue Vlad, the few remaining Sipahi were killed in a night raid by Vlad III in 1462. However, as the war raged on, Radu and his formidable Janissary battalions were well supplied with a steady flow of gunpowder and dinars; this allowed them to push deeper into the realm of Vlad III. Radu and his well-equipped forces finally besieged Poenari Castle, the famed lair of Vlad III. After his difficult victory Radu was given the title ''Bey of Wallachia by Sultan Mehmed II. Vlad III's defeat at Poenari was due in part to the fact that the Boyars, who had been alienated by Vlad's policy of undermining their authority, had joined Radu under the assurance that they would regain their privileges. They may have also believed that Ottoman protection was better than Hungarian. It was said as well that Radu (through his spies or traitors ) found the place where some Boyars' families were hidden during the war (probably some forests around Snagov) and blackmailed them to come to his side. By 8 September, Vlad had won another three victories, but continuous war had left him without any money and he could no longer pay his mercenaries. Vlad traveled to Hungary to ask for help from his former ally, Matthias Corvinus. Instead of receiving help, he found himself arrested and thrown into the dungeon for high treason. Corvinus, not planning to get involved in a war after having spent the Papal money meant for it on personal expenses, forged a letter from Vlad III to the Ottomans where he supposedly proposed a peace with them, to give an explanation for the Pope and a reason to abandon the war and return to his capital. Captivity in Hungary Vlad was imprisoned at Oratia, a fortress located at Podu Dâmboviței Bridge. A period of imprisonment in Visegrád near Buda followed, where the Wallachian prince was held for 10 years. Then he was imprisoned in Buda. The exact length of Vlad's period of captivity is open to some debate, though indications are that it was from 1462 until 1474. Diplomatic correspondence from Buda seems to indicate that the period of Vlad's effective confinement was relatively short. Radu's openly pro-Ottoman policy as voivode probably contributed to Vlad's rehabilitation. Moreover, Ștefan cel Mare, Voivode of Moldavia and relative of Vlad intervened on his behalf to be released from prison as the Ottoman pressure on the territories north of the Danube was increasing. Third reign and death judging Jesus Christ. National Gallery, Ljubljana, 1463. ]] After Radu's sudden death in 1475, Vlad III declared his third reign in 26 November 1476. Vlad began preparations for the reconquest of Wallachia in 1476 with Hungarian support. Vlad's third reign had lasted little more than two months when he was killed in battle against the Turks. The exact date of his death is unknown, presumably 31 October or the end of December 1476, but it is known that he was dead by 10 January 1477. The exact location of his death is also unknown, but it would have been somewhere along the road between Bucharest and Giurgiu. Vlad's head was taken to Constantinople as a trophy, and his body was buried unceremoniously by his rival, Basarab Laiota, possibly at Comana, a monastery founded by Vlad in 1461.Constantin Rezachevici, Unde a fost mormântul lui Vlad Tepes? (II), Magazin Istoric, nr.3, 2002, p.41) The Comana monastery was demolished and rebuilt from scratch in 1589. [http://blooferland.com/drc/images/04Rezac.rtf] In the 19th century, Romanian historians cited a "tradition", apparently without any kind of support in documentary evidence, that Vlad was buried at Snagov, an island monastery located near Bucharest. To support this theory, the so-called Cantacuzino Chronicle was cited, which cites Vlad as the founder of this monastery. But as early as 1855, Alexandru Odobescu had established that this is impossible as the monastery had been in existence before 1438. Since excavations carried out by Dinu V Rosetti in June– October 1933, it has become clear that Snagov monastery was founded during the later 14th century, well before the time of Vlad III. The 1933 excavation also established that there was no tomb below the supposed "unmarked tombstone" of Vlad in the monastery church. Rosetti (1935) reported that "Under the tombstone attributed to Vlad there was no tomb. Only many bones and jaws of horses." In the 1970s, speculative attribution of an anonymous tomb found elsewhere in the church to Vlad Țepeș was published by Simion Saveanu, a journalist who wrote a series of articles on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Vlad's death. Most Romanian historians today favor the Comana monastery as the final resting place for Vlad Țepeș. Legacy Reputation for cruelty Even during his lifetime, Vlad III Țepeș became famous as a tyrant taking sadistic pleasure in torturing and killing. He is shown in crypto-portraits made during his lifetime in the role of cruel rulers or executioners. After Vlad's death, his cruel deeds were reported with macabre gusto in popular pamphlets in Germany, reprinted from the 1480s until the 1560s, and to a lesser extent in Tsarist Russia. As an example of how Vlad Țepeș soon became iconic for all horrors unimaginable, the following pamphlet from 1521 pours out putative incidents like this one (sic):Gutknecht (1521), p.7 . Approximately 1470–1480, Belvedere Galleries, Vienna. ]] Estimates of the number of his victims range from 40,000 to 100,000. According to the German stories the number of victims he had killed was at least 80,000. In addition to the 80,000 victims mentioned he also had whole villages and fortresses destroyed and burned to the ground. Impalement was Vlad's preferred method of torture and execution. Several woodcuts from German pamphlets of the late 15th and early 16th centuries show Vlad feasting in a forest of stakes and their grisly burdens outside Brașov, while a nearby executioner cuts apart other victims. It was reported that an invading Ottoman army turned back in fright when it encountered thousands of rotting corpses on the banks of the Danube. It has also been said that in 1462 Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, a man noted for his own psychological warfare tactics and the impalement of subjugated peoples in the Ottoman Empire, returned to Constantinople after being sickened by the sight of 20,000 impaled corpses outside Vlad's capital of Târgoviște. Allegedly, Vlad's reputation for cruelty was actively promoted by Matthias Corvinus, who tarnished Vlad's reputation and credibility for a political reason: as an explanation for why he had not helped Vlad fight the Ottomans in 1462, for which purpose he had received money from most Catholic states in Europe.|pages=267–268/ Matthias employed the charges of Southeastern Transylvania, and produced fake letters of high treason, written on 7 November 1462. German sources The German stories circulated first in manuscript form in the late 15th century and the first manuscript was probably written in 1462 before Vlad's arrest. The text was later printed in Germany and had a major impact on the general public, becoming a best-seller of its time with numerous later editions adding to and altering the original text. In addition to the manuscripts and pamphlets the German version of the stories can be found in the poem of Michael Beheim. The poem called "Von ainem wutrich der hies Trakle waida von der Walachei" ("Story of a Madman Named Dracula of Wallachia") was written and performed at the court of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor during the winter of 1463. To this day four manuscripts and 13 pamphlets have been found, as well as the poem by Michel Beheim. The surviving manuscripts date from the last quarter of the 15th century to the year 1500 and the found pamphlets date from 1488 to 1559–1568. Eight of the pamphlets are incunabula, meaning that they were printed before 1501. The German stories about Vlad the Impaler consist of 46 short episodes, although none of the manuscripts, pamphlets or the poem of Beheim contain all 46 stories. All of them begin with the story of the old governor, John Hunyadi, having Vlad's father killed, and how Vlad and his brother renounced their old religion and swore to protect and uphold the Christian faith. After this, the order and titles of the stories differ by manuscript and pamphlet editions. Russian sources The Russian or the Slavic version of the stories about Vlad the Impaler called "Skazanie o Drakule voevode" ("The Tale of Warlord Dracula") is thought to have been written sometime between 1481 and 1486. Copies were made from the 15th century to the 18th century, of which some twenty-two extant manuscripts survive in Russian archives.McNally, Raymond. (1982). "Origins of the Slavic Narratives about the Historical Dracula". The oldest one, from 1490, ends as follows: "First written in the year 6994 of the Byzantine calendar (1486), on 13 February; then transcribed by me, the sinner Efrosin, in the year 6998 (1490), on 28 January". The Tales of Prince Dracula is neither chronological nor consistent, but mostly a collection of anecdotes of literary and historical value concerning Vlad Țepeș. There are 19 anecdotes in The Tales of Prince Dracula which are longer and more constructed than the German stories. The Tales can be divided into two sections: The first 13 episodes are non-chronological events most likely closer to the original folkloric oral tradition about Vlad. The last six episodes are thought to have been written by a scholar who collected them, because they are chronological and seem to be more structured. The stories begin with a short introduction and the anecdote about the nailing of hats to ambassadors' heads. They end with Vlad's death and information about his family. Of the 19 anecdotes there are ten that have similarities to the German stories.Striedter, Jurij. (1961). "Die Erzählung vom walachisen Vojevoden Drakula in der russischen und deutschen Überlieferung". Although there are similarities between the Russian and the German stories about Vlad, there is a clear distinction in the attitude towards him. The Russian stories tend to portray him in a more positive light: he is depicted as a great ruler, a brave soldier and a just sovereign. Stories of atrocities tend to seem to be justified as the actions of a strong ruler. Of the 19 anecdotes, only four seem to have exaggerated violence. Some elements of the anecdotes were later added to Russian stories about Ivan the Terrible of Russia. The nationality and identity of the original writer of the anecdotes Dracula is disputed. The two most plausible explanations are that the writer was either a Romanian priest or a monk from Transylvania, or a Romanian or Moldavian from the court of Stephen the Great in Moldavia. One theory claims the writer was a Russian diplomat named Fyodor Kuritsyn. Ambras Castle portrait A contemporary portrait of Vlad III, rediscovered by Romanian historians in the late 19th century, had been featured in the gallery of horrors at Innsbruck's Ambras Castle. This original has been lost to history, but a larger copy, painted anonymously in the first half of the 16th century, now hangs in the same gallery.This copy, unlike the crypto-portraits contemporary with Vlad III, seems to have given him a Habsburg lip. Popular culture Romanian patriotism Romanian and Bulgarian documents from 1481 onwards portray Vlad as a hero, a true leader, who used harsh yet fair methods to reclaim the country from the corrupt and rich boyars. Moreover, all his military efforts were directed against the Ottoman Empire which explicitly wanted to conquer Wallachia. Excerpt from "The Slavonic Tales": : And he hated evil in his country so much that, if anyone committed some harm, theft or robbery or a lye or an injustice, none of those remained alive. Even if he was a great boyar or a priest or a monk or an ordinary man, or even if he had a great fortune, he couldn't pay himself from death. '' An Italian writer, Michael Bocignoli from Ragusa, in his writings from 1524, refers to Vlad Țepeș as: : ''It was once (in Valahia), a prince Dragul by his name, a very wise and skillful man in war. '' (In Latin in the original text: ''Inter eos aliquando princeps fuit, quem voievodam appellant, Dragulus nomine, vir acer et militarium negotiorum apprime peritus.) In the Letopisețul cantacuzinesc ("Cantacuzino chronicle"), a historic account written around 1688 by Stoica Ludescu of the Cantacuzino family, Vlad orders the boyars to build the fortress of Poenari with their own bare hands. Later in the document, Ludescu refers to the (re)crowning of Vlad as a happy event: : Voievod Vlad sat on the throne and all the country came to pay respect, and brought many gifts and they went back to their houses with great joy. And Voievod Vlad with the help of God grew into much good and honor as long as he kept the reign of those just people. '' (In Romanian in the original text: ''De aciia șăzu în scaun Vladul-vodă și veni țara de i să închină, și aduse daruri multe și să întoarseră iarăși cine pre la case-și cu mare bucurie. Iar Vladul-vodă cu ajutorul lui Dumnezeu creștea întru mai mari bunătăți și în cinste pân' cât au ținut sfatul acelui neam drept.) Around 1785, Ioan Budai-Deleanu, a Romanian writer,and renowned historian, wrote a Romanian epic heroic poem, "Țiganiada", in which prince Vlad Țepeș stars as a fierce warrior fighting the Ottomans. Later, in 1881, Mihai Eminescu, one of the greatest Romanian poets, in "Letter 3", popularizes Vlad's image in modern Romanian patriotism, having him stand as a figure to contrast with presumed social decay under the Phanariotes and the political scene of the 19th century. The poem even suggests that Vlad's violent methods be applied as a cure. In the final lyrics, the poet makes a call to Vlad Țepeș (i. e. Dracula) to come, to sort the contemporaries into two teams: the mad and the wicked and then set fire to the prison and to the madhouse. : (In Romanian in the original text:: Dar lăsaţi măcar strămoşii ca să doarmă-n colb de cronici; '': ''Din trecutul de mărire v-ar privi cel mult ironici. '': ''Cum nu vii tu, Ţepeş doamne, ca punând mâna pe ei, '': ''Să-i împarţi în două cete: în smintiţi şi în mişei, '': ''Şi în două temniţi large cu de-a sila să-i aduni, '': ''Să dai foc la puşcărie şi la casa de nebuni!) In contrast, documents of Germanic, Saxon, and Hungarian origin portray Vlad as a tyrant, a monster so cruel that he needs to be stopped. For example, Johan Christian Engel characterizes Vlad as "a cruel tyrant and a monster of humankind". Several authors and historians believe that this may be the result of a bad image campaign initiated by the Transylvanian Saxons who were actively persecuted during Vlad's reign and later maintained and spread by Matthias Corvinus. It is conceivable that these actions were not beyond the Hungarian King since he had already framed Vlad Țepeș by producing a forged letter to incriminate Vlad of coalition with the Turks; however, there is incontestable evidence, both in Romanian and foreign documents, including Vlad's own letters, that he killed tens of thousands of people in horrible ways. Vampires The connection of the name "Dracula" with vampirism was made by Bram Stoker, who probably found the name of his Count Dracula character in William Wilkinson's book, An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia: with various Political Observations Relating to Them. It is known that Stoker made notes about this book. It is also suggested that Stoker may have been made aware of the reputation of Vlad through an acquaintance of his, Hungarian professor Ármin Vámbéry from Budapest. The fact that character Dr. Abraham Van Helsing states in the 1897 novel that the source of his knowledge about Count Dracula is his friend Arminius appears to support this hypothesis, although there is no specific evidence that Stoker and Vambéry ever discussed Wallachian history. Referring to a letter from his friend Arminius, van Helsing comments: This encourages the reader to identify the Vampire Count with the Voivode Dracula first mentioned by him, the one betrayed by his own brother: Vlad III Dracula betrayed by his brother Radu the Handsome. Portrayal in Film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), in turn inspired by Dan Curtis' Dracula, merges a reincarnation romance with the medieval story of Vlad III. The wife of Count Dracula is deceived by his enemies into believing he has been killed in battle, and throws herself from a rampart into a river. As a suicide, she is denied a Christian burial, and Vlad Dracul, played by Gary Oldman, renounces God. Attempting a somewhat more 'historical' look at the figure was Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (alternately titled Dracula: The Dark Prince and Dark Prince: Legend of Dracula), a horror-war television film. In it, Vlad (Rudolf Martin) is a dispossessed noble, and a patriot who fights the occupation forces of the Turks hoping to avenge the murder of his father by Romanian nobles and the capture of his brother by the Ottoman sultan.At the end of the film, Vlad is excommunicated by the Orthodox Church shortly before being assassinated by his own brother, Radu, and having a vision of his late wife Lidia calling his name. As a result of his condemnation by the priests, Vlad is found to have risen from the grave and gained eternal life, free to roam the earth as he has been denied entrance to both Heaven and Hell. Martin then reprised the character, in an episode of the fifth season of the series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Francesco Quinn, son of Anthony Quinn, played the title role in 2003's Vlad, with Billy Zane as his modern-day nemesis. Blade: Trinity (2004) also capitalizes on the connection between the historical figure and the legends. Drake (originally Dagon, known as a Sumerian god) is supposed to have had many forms throughout the centuries, Stoker's Dracula being one of them. The most recent version of Stoker's work is the television series Dracula 2013, which stars (Jonathan Rhys Myers) in the title role. The next film adaption will be Dracula Untold (2014). References External links * [http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk/~jrh11/DracParNEW.doc The Tale of Dracula] Russian manuscript circa 1490, with English translation* Original coins issued by Vlad III the Impaler ' Influence ' Count Drucula,not influenced the modern vampire mythology,but major literary,tv,film and comic vilans.Professor Moriarity and Dr.Fu Manchu,Thulsa Doom,Thoth-Amon (also spelled Thoth-amon),Doctor Doom,Ra's al Ghul,Doctor No,Darth Vader,Imhotep from the Mummy film series and many others can traced back to Dracula directly or indirectly.Crealy,the fictional Count Dracula,inspired much the 20th Century supervillians. Category:1431 births Category:1476 deaths Category:15th-century Romanian people Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Category:Dracula Category:House of Drăculești Category:Medieval child rulers Category:Monarchs killed in action Category:Order of the Dragon Category:People from Sighişoara Category:Romanian Roman Catholics Category:Romanian exiles Category:Romanian expatriates in Hungary Category:Romanians in Hungary Category:Rulers deposed as children Category:Rulers of Wallachia